leaves unfurl

PICTOU – Applause filled a Pictou courtroom Thursday when Justice Douglas MacLellan announced he was denying bail to a New Glasgow man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

"Thank God," a woman was heard whispering when the clapping ceased.

Matthew Craig Anderson, 25, has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 2. He applied to the Supreme Court in Pictou for bail and a hearing was held last week, with MacLellan giving his decision Thursday.

The seating area was packed with relatives and friends of Jamie-Lynn Walsh. The 21-year-old was found dead in her Temperance Street apartment on New Year's Day. Police have not yet released the cause of death.

Walsh's parents were among those gathered in court for yesterday's decision.

"We're very relieved," her father, James Walsh, said afterward.

The testimony given during the bail hearing and the reasons MacLellan gave for his decision are banned from publication.

Anderson has elected trial by Supreme Court judge and jury. A preliminary inquiry is scheduled to begin Aug. 15 in provincial court to determine if there's enough evidence to send the case to trial. That date will be reviewed on May 4 and may be pushed ahead depending on the length of time it takes to get results back from forensic lab tests.

Glad you liked it!! XD The mental image the sibs sleeping on a couch that I talked about before transformed into that mental image. XDD ...Speaking of images, are you still going to draw that, and/or would you be interested in making this into one of our inkspots?